Graffiti on my Heart
by branson101
Summary: Edward Cullen is a preacher in the town of Forks where he grew up. He has only one regret in his life. The amazing girl that he let get away. When she returns to town for her cousin's wedding they are forced to see one another again. One thing is for certain, Edward is not going to let her walk away again without telling her everything he should have told her years ago.
1. Chapter 1

Graffiti on my Heart

Prologue

I will always remember the day that Bella Swan showed up in our quiet little town and turned my life upside down. All the town gossips had been out in force, spreading the news for a solid week; Chief Swan's wild-child daughter was being sent here by her mother because she couldn't handle her antics anymore. Moreover, they were also spreading the news that she had gotten into some legal trouble and was on probation, but none could agree on what she got in trouble for. The most popular theories were drugs and underage drinking, and most scandalous (and most ridiculous) was prostitution. The first two I thought were plausible, if the probation thing was actually true. Prostitution, however, seemed quite unlikely and like I said, it was ridiculous. She was a teenager like me. I tried not to listen to The Gossip Brigade too much, but they were good for a laugh now and then.

The first I actually saw of Bella that day wasn't until lunch, even though I felt like I had seen her everywhere from the way that everyone had been talking about her all day. The cafeteria went absolutely silent when she walked through the door. She was wearing black jeans and a t-shirt that hugged tight to her chest. Her hair was so long that it went all the way down her back, and had obviously been dyed black and the bottom half dyed hot pink. I hadn't seen anyone quite like her before. If she noticed everyone watching her, she never let on. I watched, as did everyone else, as she purchased a hamburger, two orders of fries, and a regular soda. Most of the girls around here refused to get anything other than a salad and a bottle of water and then would refuse to finish the salad. I wanted to roll my eyes as I heard a couple of the girls sitting near me accuse Bella of being bulimic. I tried to go back to eating my own lunch, but couldn't stop myself from looking up at her every few minutes. I watched with amusement as she ate every bite of her lunch and then got up and went to buy an ice cream cone.

She was halfway back to the table that she'd been sitting at when Emmett McCarty came into the cafeteria and grabbed her and dragged her over to our table. And I do mean dragged. She was arguing with him and struggling to get away from him the whole way.

"Everyone, this is my cousin Bella. Bella, this is everyone." Then he turned and smiled at the blonde that was approaching us. "This, however, is the only person that matters. This is my Rose."

"Hello Bella. Welcome to Forks High," Emmett grabbed Bella's ice cream and started eating it as Rose grabbed her into a hug. "Sorry we weren't here earlier. We had to take care of something with one of our teachers and it took longer than we expected."

"That's alright. I was fine. I'll talk to you later," she said, eyeing all of us for a moment before bolting away from us. While everyone else returned to their food and conversations I watched Bella grab her stuff and take off outside. I got up, saying that I needed to hit the bathroom before my next class and left the cafeteria through the front doors. I detoured over to the side door and went outside in search of Bella. I found her behind the dumpster smoking a cigarette. I didn't want her to catch me watching her like a creepy stalker so I went back in the building and did go to the bathroom on my way to biology.

When I got there I found Bella was seated at my lab table. I sighed and walked up to the table and took my seat. I looked over to see that she had a sketchpad open and she was drawing something. I couldn't help but lean over and look over her shoulder. "That's amazing. You're really talented." I blurted out without thinking. She immediately shut her sketchbook and stuffed it into her bag.

"Do you always violate people's personal space without invitation?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." I turned back around and started pulling my notebook out of my bag.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a bitch and I'm ok at drawing. I know people that are a hell of a lot better than I am. This isn't the medium that I prefer to work with." It was then that I noticed that Bella had her tongue pierced. I didn't get to talk to her anymore that day. The teacher started class and lectured us straight through until the end of class.

Every day for the next week I would watch Bella as she would sit by herself at lunch eating huge amounts of food that seemed to anger most of the other girls. I guess it's supposed to be offensive or something for a girl to eat like that in public. I liked the fact that she didn't let what other people thought of her get to her. Emmett stopped trying to force her to sit with us after the third day of dragging her over when she kicked him in the shin and ran off. And she always slipped outside for a smoke after she finished eating. I know because I would follow her out there. It was wrong of me to follow her and I really knew it, but I just couldn't stop myself.

Tonight Angela dragged me out to a party that Emmett was throwing. Angela and I had been dating since ninth grade. I wanted to end it but didn't really know how to without breaking her heart. She was so sweet and good and really cared about me but I deep down we didn't want the same things out of life. I wanted to go away to college and see the world and she just wanted to go to college in Seattle, get married after college, and start a family.

There was definitely a part of me that felt guilty about being attracted to Bella, but she was so different than any of the girls I knew. I'd check out her drawings every day when I'd come into Biology without her noticing. She was an amazing artist. She never wore anything besides jeans and band t-shirts. And she was smart. I was good in school, but I can honestly say that she is the reason that my biology grade was going up right now.

I found myself walking around Emmett's house looking for Bella. I had left Angela with Jess and Lauren on the patio drinking and gossiping. I didn't think she'd even notice that I was gone at this point. I was getting frustrated because I couldn't find Bella anywhere but I knew that she was here. I'd seen her with Emmett earlier. It looked like they may have been arguing about something because she was pacing and grabbing at her hair with was now dyed aqua at the ends. I wished that we were friends so that I could find out what was going on. I was getting too curious about her for my own good but she was so intriguing. I couldn't keep myself from thinking about her all the time.

Finally I spotted her. I watched as Bella ran up the stairs. I turned and made a beeline for the stairs to follow her. I made it up the top only to see her walking into a room at the end of the hall. She turned and winked at me before closing the door behind her. I may have had a couple beers in me, but damn it, I knew exactly what I was doing when I walked up to that door and knocked.

Bella opened the door with a big smile on her face, grabbed my shirt, and pulled me into the room. She threw me against the wall and started kissing me. I couldn't have stopped myself at that point even if I had wanted to. I wanted her so bad, so I kissed her back.

"Do you want to fuck me Edward?" she pulled back slightly.

I couldn't figure out how to form words at that point so I just nodded like an idiot.

"Have you ever fucked a girl before, Edward?" She asked me with a smirk. I shook my head no as she reached over to lock the door and started backing away towards the bed with me following her blindly. "Then we need to remedy that. Come fuck me, handsome." She pulled off her shirt to reveal that she wasn't even wearing a bra. That was when I noticed that she was wearing a skirt for the first time since I had met her.

"You're wearing a skirt."

"Easier access," she whispered into my ear before biting down on the lobe. I swear I was about to be the world's biggest loser and cum right there in my pants. She grabbed my shirt again and spun us until I was closer to the bed and then she pushed me down to sit on the edge. I stared at her dumbly as she dropped to her knees and moved forward until she was between my legs. Before I knew it she had my fly open and had pulled me out. She was sitting there stroking me and looking up into my eyes until I was able to relax a little bit. Then she leaned her face down and took me into her mouth. I let my head fall back with a moan. I sat there just concentrating on what it felt like to have her mouth moving up and down and up and down. Then she took her tongue and, Oh God! I'd never felt anything that amazing in my life. Ever.

Like a total loser I didn't last long and I was absolutely shocked when she swallowed it. She laughed a little as I looked at her with wide eyes. I just knew that any second she was get to get that I was a complete loser and walk out that door. But fuck, that was the best thing I had ever experienced in my life.

"Move back onto the bed and lie down. I'll be right there." I watched as she grabbed a bottle of water of her purse and took a quick drink. "Want some?" She asked walking over to me. I think that I said yes, but all I could concentrate on was the way that her boobs bounced as she walked. I grabbed the bottle out of her hand and took a sip and immediately started choking. That wasn't water.

"Vodka. The easiest liquor to conceal. " I took another drink liking the way that it made my head feel before handing it back to her. She downed some more before putting the cap back on and setting it on the floor next to the bed.

I reached my hand out and swiped my hand across her breast, "I want to see you completely naked." She stood up again and moved her hands to her skirt, undid a few buttons, and then let it drop to the floor. I knew that I was just lying there staring at her but she had an amazing body.

"Your turn to get naked." I didn't waste a second before I started pulling my clothes off and throwing them over the side of the bed onto the floor. She laughed again and she crawled onto the bed and straddled my stomach. God! The heat that was coming off of her was intense. "Touch me, Edward, touch me all over my body."

I reached up and grabbed her breasts and squeezed them. "Harder," she moaned. So I squeezed them harder. Her nipples were hard as they hit my palms. I was so intrigued by them that I started rubbing my thumb over them. I felt Bella start to squirm on me and I looked up at her face to see that she had her eyes closed and her breathing had picked up. Realizing that she really like what I was doing, I kept rubbing them. I kept my gaze on her face until she open her eyes and looked right into mine. I felt her take my hand and move in down between her legs, "Rub me like that, here." I did what she asked and she started moaning and squirming more. My fingers slipped a little and they ended up slipping into her a little, "Yes, Edward, please do that." I had no idea what it was that I was doing but I moved my hand a little anyway and pushed my fingers in her a little more. I don't know why I thought to do it but I moved my fingers in and out of her like I was having sex with her. I kept my thumb moving where she'd put it before and soon she threw her head back and her body started shuddering. When she fell forward on my chest I stopped what my hand was doing and just laid there with her lying there on my chest catching her breath.

"Wow, Edward. You're good at that," she gasped before kissing me again. I like the way that she kissed me. She shifted her body down and started sucking on my neck. I was lost in just feeling what she was doing with her mouth that I didn't realize that she had moved her hips until I felt her take my cock in her hands and then slowly lower herself on me. If I thought that the feeling of her mouth was amazing, it was nothing compared to the feeling of this. She started moving immediately. Moving her hips up and down and then she'd swivel them. I started pushing my hips up to meet hers and eventually felt confident enough to move my hands to her ass. I kept them there briefly pushing her down on me harder as she moved her hips. She gasped and smirked at me as she leaned down and took my nipple in her mouth. I bucked up suddenly from the shock of the sensation. I never thought that that would turn me on like that.

She shifted half off me when we were done but kept her leg wrapped around mine as I held her close to my side. "You have a natural talent for that," she said as she traced unknown designs on my chest with her finger. We sat there in silence for a few minutes until she grabbed my watch, "Shit. I am going to be screwed if I don't beat Charlie home." I watched as she grabbed her clothes and threw them on. Once she was dressed she leaned down and kissed me, "If you want to get together and do that again I'd really like it or even if you just want to hang out," she blushed a little as she spoke, "just text me. And don't worry I'm good at keeping my mouth shut. Your girlfriend will never hear anything from me." She dropped a piece of paper on my chest as she turned and left the room.

I laid there realizing that I had just cheated on Angie. I felt guilty knowing that she was going to be hurt when she found out what I did, but I didn't regret it. And that was horrible of me. I know it was. But there was something that was intriguing about Bella and all I could really think about was when I could arrange to meet up with her again.

I got dressed and made my way back downstairs. I heard Emmett's voice as I approached the kitchen, "She's going to get into more trouble Rose. You know Uncle Charlie's pissed as it is. He told her that it's school and home and that's it until she finds a job to pay him and Renee back for the money they had to pay to cover the damage. He'll ship her off to Aunt Heidi's next. I don't want her to leave."

"I know, but she's on her way home right now. She'll beat him there and he'll be none the wiser."

"She shouldn't have come here tonight. I told her not to come. I don't understand why she came."

I turned from the kitchen door before they had a chance to notice me and ran smack into Angie, "Where have you been, Baby, I've been looking everywhere for you," she pouted at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. Obviously she didn't look everywhere or she'd have found me; having sex with Bella. I groaned at the realization that Angie could have caught us and knew exactly what I had to do now.

"Angie, we really need to talk. Let's get you sobered up a little first."

A/N:

Well, I am ready to post this but I am not promising when the next update will be. I am almost done with the next chapter but RL is hell right now. Here are a few things I want everyone to know about this story. First, there will not be a whole lot of sex scenes. There might be more in the future but I prefer stories with plot and storyline to stories that have nothing but sex, sex, sex and no story. Two, this Bella is not a prostitute like Edward said he'd heard the gossips say. Gossip is all that it was. More about her past will come out as the story progresses. I do look forward to sharing this story with everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

Graffiti on my Heart Chapter 1

Ten years later

EPOV:  
The alarm blasted me out of my dream. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. I hated it when _that_ dream made an appearance. It wasn't really a so much of a dream, but rather a collage of memories from a time in my life I wish I could forget but can't. Who was I trying to fool? I never wanted to forget that time in my life. Nor did I want to forget her. Even if she was only in my life for such a short time.

I smacked the alarm, sending it flying onto the floor. At least the thing had stopped screaming at me. I climbed out of the bed and shuffled to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I'd had a late night last night sitting up with a family of parishioners whose mother was dying of cancer. She finally passed at a little after three in the morning. It definitely wasn't my favorite part of the job, but I was glad that I could offer the family some peace at one of the worst moments of their lives.

My job wasn't all bad. I had many days were the good things prevailed, like baptisms and weddings. Weddings. I sighed, turning off the water in the shower standing there with my eyes closed and trying not to dwell on the past any more. After starting to shiver I finally gave up on getting her out of my head and got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist before wandering back out into my bedroom and sitting down on the bed. Emmett McCarty was marrying Rosalie Hale in a few weeks and I was officiating. They had been some of my closest friends since I was a kid and I was thrilled to be the one marrying them. But I knew that _she_ was going to be coming for the wedding. Emmett warned me long ago that she'd be here. It wasn't a shock to me. I figured that Rose would have asked her to be a bridesmaid. Emmett was her cousin and they had remained close. They even went to the same college. Rose and Emmett still travelled to see her and attend her shows. I hadn't seen her in years. Not since that day. Not since she left. Not that she had much of a choice about that.

I finished dressing and took off to the church to prepare for today's services. We held Sunday services at nine and eleven every week. I picked up my sermon and started to review it for the last time before I took it out and put it in place on my pulpit. My theme this week was 'do unto others' as a tie-in to the anti-bullying campaign that the local schools were engaging in this week. This after noon the ladies auxiliary were holding an ice-cream social as a way to get everyone together in a friendly and social way. I hated these get togethers. They wouldn't be so bad if every woman in town hadn't made it their personal mission to find me a wife lately. Every time I turned around they were trying to set me up with a daughter, niece, granddaughter, cousin, friend, or outright coming onto me or trying to seduce me. For such a small town you'd think that there wouldn't so many desperate women but there are. It wasn't that I didn't want to get married. I wanted to a family so bad that I could taste it. I just hadn't been able to find a woman that made me feel like she did. I doubted that I ever would. It wasn't that I hadn't tried either. I did date. I had a couple girlfriends in college. I just couldn't see myself married to them.

I pushed my thoughts about her out of my head and continued to work on my preparations for the day. I walked out into the chapel and found Mrs. Cope walking in. During the week she was the secretary at Forks High School, just as she had been since before I went there. On Sundays she played organ for the church services just as she had when I was a kid and my grandfather had been the minister here. I am sure that she was already planning to play for Mrs. Banner's funeral. I had to remember to make time to stop by their home this afternoon to check on Mr. Banner and his three daughters. I felt horrible thinking it, but it was a great excuse to leave the social early. I smiled and waved at Mrs. Cope before I walked back out of the chapel.

I locked the door to my office and sat at my staring at the flyer that stated that the ice cream social was being held at Tilicum park. I hated going to that park. It never failed to remind me of the horrible person that I was in high school. Angela was another regret I had from high school. In some ways, anyways. I regretted that I cheated on her. I regretted that I wasn't man enough to be honest with her the night that I broke up with her. I did not, however, regret being with Bella. I didn't see the point in saying anything now. Angela was happy with her life so what was the point in bring up the past. More specifically, bringing up things from the past that would only hurt her.

_As I walked into the kitchen dragging Angie behind me, Emmett and Rose stopped their conversation quickly and walked out of the room without a word. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and pulled Angie out into the backyard. We walked down the street while she drank the water and eventually we ended up at Tilicum park. By that point she was pretty much sober. Enough anyway that we could have this conversation._

_ "I'm so sorry."_

_ "Sorry about what?"_

_ It was on the tip of my tongue to confess. To tell her what Bella and I had been doing upstairs while she had been downstairs with her friends. But being the coward that I was, I chickened out. "I think you are amazing but I don't want this anymore."_

_ "Are you stoned? You don't want what exactly? I don't understand."_

_ "Us, Angie. I don't want this…us."_

_ "You can't mean that. We love each other." She said with a confidence that told me that she really believed in our love for each other. She threw her arms around my neck and tried to kiss me. _

_I dodged the kiss and pried her arms loose, "I mean it Angie. I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't love you."_

"_I can't believe that you're doing this." She started to cry. "I know we love each other and we have plans."_

_ "We have differing plans for our lives, Angie. We don't want the same things at all. This was really inevitable."_

_ Her tears dried up as quickly as they started as she marched up to me and started slapping me, "YOU ASSHOLE! I HATE YOU!" she screamed at me and then she kneed me in the balls and then got my nose as I hunched over. As I fell to the ground on my knees and then onto my back on the ground, I knew that I deserved it. I deserved it and so much more. Tonight I hadn't behaved like a man nor like the gentleman my parents had raised me to be. I cheated on a wonderful girl who cared about me and I hadn't even had the decency to confess my sins. But maybe she didn't need to know. It would only hurt her more if she knew, right? And wasn't I really protecting Bella's reputation with my silence too? There were so many rumors and lies going around about her already that she didn't need anymore. Yes, it was better for both Angie and Bella that I didn't say a word about what I did with Bella. _

_ By the time that I was able to see clearly enough to look around I found that she was long gone. I walked in the direction of her house and was relieved when I saw that her bedroom light was on. I sat there and waited until it went off, I sure sign that she was definitely in the house before I walked back to Emmett's to get my car. I walked in the door to find my parents watching a movie in the living room. I should have remembered that they'd be here and come in through the kitchen but I was too distracted and now I was going to have to tell them what happened. There was no way that I was getting passed them with blood on my face and shirt. Again, I was too much of a coward to tell the truth. And again, I justified it by convincing myself that I was protecting Bella when I was really just protecting myself._

_ The next day I stayed in bed until well after noon. Neither Mom nor Dad bothered me. I assumed that they figured that I had had a bad night thinking about Angela and our break up. I did think about her a little bit. Mostly I laid awake thinking about Bella. I wanted to go to her house but after listening to Emmett and Rose talking, I was afraid that I would get her into trouble if I just showed up there. _

_ I sighed and made my way downstairs to find that my parents weren't home. I found a note from them on the kitchen counter saying they were spending the day in Port Angeles and wouldn't be home until late. They left me money for pizza. That was a plus to my day. _

_ I wasn't really hungry at the moment so I just grabbed a soda and ice out of the fridge and laid down on the couch and started flipping through channels while icing my sore nose. I laid there for a couple hours before I decided that I was hungry and didn't really want pizza. A cheeseburger and fries sounded better. I threw on some clothes and headed into town to the diner. _

_ It was Saturday night and the place was busy with kids from school out on dates. Well, those that didn't want to drive all the way to Port Angeles to see a movie. Gas prices were too insane to make that drive on a teen's budget often unless you went in a group and everyone pitched in for gas. _

_ I sat there drinking my malt and people watching while waiting for my food when Chief Swan walked in with one of his deputies. They took the booth right in back of me. I couldn't help but overhear them talking. Okay, maybe I was deliberately listening to their conversation._

_ "I can't believe you told her so could do that."_

_ "I swear, Mark, I wanted to tell her no, but I couldn't. Did I tell you that she got a job at Newton's? Starts on Monday."_

_ "Good. Then she can start paying you and Renee back for money the two of you had to pay to get her out of trouble. I think you are doing the right thing making her work to pay you back."_

_ "Yeah. You know, the thing is that she gets that she screwed up big time and she does feel bad about what she did. I hate being the bad guy and keeping her grounded but what she did was big. I need to know that she really, and I mean really gets that and I have to be sure that she won't pull that shit again."_

_ "How did the meeting with her probation officer go today?"_

_ "Real good. She's happy with Bella's grades and that she's getting a job. She'll also start the community service part of her sentence soon. They have her assigned to litter clean up. She starts with First Beach Tuesday after school." _

_ I was even more perplexed about Bella now. What had she done to be on probation? I had so many questions about Bella now. From the rest of the conversation that I heard Charlie was working all night so I decided that it would be safe to pay Bella a visit on my way home. _

_ I finished my dinner and drove towards The Chief's house. Everyone knew where his house was. Everyone knew where everyone's house was in this town. I had second thoughts half way there. What if one of her neighbors saw me and ratted her out to her dad. I decided to park on the next block and walk over to her house. I stood in the driveway staring at her in confusion. She was standing by the garage staring at it. What was even stranger was the crate at her feet. Or I should say what was in the crate. I couldn't wait to get an explanation for this. _

A/N:

Hi! Happy Saturday! This is the format that the rest of the story will be told. From Edward's memories. I have to tell you that I was raised Catholic. I have since defected but have not ventured into any other religions. Catholic practices are what I know so those are the nuances that may come out, but Edward is NOT a catholic priest. I am not identifying a specific religion because I am not an expert in religions nor do I want to accidentally offend anyone. I will also be making things up. I feel that it is the safest way to go. Again. I have no clue when I'll update again, but I really appreciate you reading.


	3. Chapter 3

GomH Chapter 3

She was here. She was in my church today. She looked just as beautiful as she did back in high school. I tried to keep focused on the service but I failed miserably. She wasn't a church goer back in high school. She was sitting between Emmett and Rose so I knew that they were the ones that dragged her here. Just like old times.

The choir finished their song and I stood to end the service and send everyone on their way. That is when she looked right at me. Her beautiful deep brown eyes piercing mine. She smirked as I kept talking and dismissed the congregation. She always had a way of getting under my skin with just a look and she knew it and used it to her advantage…often. I walked out for the mandatory hand shaking and hugging fest. It seems like everyone's walking through the receiving line today since all I want to do is get out of here. Her presence has increased my guilt over my sins. I'm not sure that I am going to be able to stand it much longer. I keep expecting her to be next in line to pop up in front of me. But she doesn't. I let out a sigh of relief when Emmett and Rose and their parents make it past me and she wasn't with them. Finally the line ends and I am free to go. I look out across the street and see her sitting on the hood of Rose's convertible. She's throwing her head back and laughing at something that was said and I am jealous of them, that they get to be with her and hear her beautiful laugh.

I quickly consider just going home and calling it a day but I can't. I have responsibilities here. I have one more mass in about an hour. I walked back into the church and straight to my office. I hear the choir and Mrs. Cope pass by. I know they are cutting through the church to the social hall to enjoy some coffee and gossip while they wait for the second mass. I am so grateful to these people. They voluntarily give up their whole Sunday morning for the church every week. I would normally go join them. For the coffee, not the gossip, but I wasn't going to be good company for anyone today. I sat at my desk and stared out of the window. From here I had the perfect view of where Bella had been sitting on the hood of Rose's car. She was long gone now and I was staring at the tree that had been planted five years ago by a joint activity between Boy and Girl Scouts in the area for Arbor Day that year. It was a cherry blossom because they thought it would be pretty to look at when it bloomed in the spring. And it was. Maybe I would suggest that the church youth group plant another one as their project next spring.

I really don't remember getting through the next mass or how I made it to the park. All I know is that I keep searching the crowd for her. She's not here. Neither are Rose and Emmett. But why would they be? None of them have kids and this is an event to bring the kids of the area together for unity and togetherness. Even I could have told the organizers that this was never going to work because the kids that we have trouble with being bullies were never going to show up here. Not even for free ice cream.

My ability escape the sugar fest and hyper children was impeded by The Ladies Auxiliary, they wanted to discuss the Banner funeral and the menu they were planning for the reception after the services.

"We have to do right by Eleanor. She was one of us!" By that she meant a member of the ladies auxiliary and a great cook. I always looked forward to her scalloped potatoes and deviled eggs. And her chocolate cake. Oh my God! That cake was so amazing it was sinful, and I could eat a whole one of those babies by myself in one sitting. I was standing there talking with these ladies that Mrs. Banner was never going to make another cake again. Nor was she going to make soup to bring to parishioners that were sick with flu in the winter. She had been such a huge part of our community and would be very much missed.

I took a seat at the table with the ladies and we talked details for the next half hour. I had to talk them down a couple times. If I had let the ladies have their way we'd be having a five course banquet at the minimum. As is, there was already talk of a cook-off event to raise money for cancer research. Now that I was definitely going to push for and might even participate in. I stood to leave the ladies to their discussion on how to split up the work when some of the kids roped me into playing basketball with them.

By the time I left the park I needed to run home for another shower before I went to visit the Banners. I played three games of three a side ball with them. The last game was girls versus boys and the girls killed us. When I left the boys were demanding a rematch this time with the old man as a handicap. I would have been offended by that comment but I was already developing pain in my knees and ankles. I wasn't as fit as I was in high school anymore. I need to start running or something again to get into shape. I was closing in on my thirties and needed to start thinking about my health more. More exercise and less cake was a good start.

I decided to put my feet where my mouth was and walk to the Banner's home. It was a beautiful fall day and more people should take more time to slow down and enjoy life. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought my route through enough and ended up walking past Chief Swan's house. I stood there staring at the garage that was a depressing, plain white. I would never forget the day that I sat there watching Bella transform it into a beautiful work of art.

_I stood there watching as Bella rooted through the crate and stood up holding a black marker. She turned and looked at the ground. I moved a little closer only to see that she was looking at a sketchpad that was lying on the ground. My moving closer had also alerted Bella that I was there. She looked up and smiled at me. _

_ "Instead of just standing over there staring at me, come over here and hold my sketchpad while you stand there staring at me. At least then you'll be doing something useful." _

_ I walked over to stand right next to her as she handed me the pad. The drawing was amazing. It was of this fairy that was coming out of the wall. The drawing was amazing, but I didn't say anything as she pulled me to stand where she needed me before dropping the marker again and grabbing a pencil out of the crate. She walked over to the garage and started drawing a line and then immediately erased it. Once she was convinced that the pencil would work on the garage wall she walked away and into the garage. She returned only moments later with a step ladder and climbed up on it. I watched as she drew an outline on the garage of the sketch that I was holding for her._

_ She worked in silence for nearly two hours. Finally she stepped back and looked at the sky and sighed. "Well, that is all that I can get done tonight. There is not enough light to work by. I'll just have to continue tomorrow." I helped her carry her art supplies and the ladder into the garage. Once she was happy that everything was put away she turned back to me, "Would you like to come in for a bit?" I nodded at her and followed her silently into the house. She grabbed two cans of Pibb out of the fridge and handed one to me. I followed her into the living room and sat next to her on the couch._

_ "I'm sorry about last night. I mean…I don't know how to say this right. I'm not that kind of girl that does things like that. I…I…I don't know why I did it other than I was attracted to you and just didn't think it through. I feel so guilty about last night because you have a girlfriend, and although I don't really like her, no one deserves to get hurt like that. And I feel guilty because I really enjoyed last night and I don't completely regret having sex with you. I know that makes me a horrible person but I guess I am. I already knew that. That's why I got exiled here in the first place."_

_ "Exiled?"_

_ "Yeah. I never saw it coming, really. I knew that Mom was angry with me, but it was one mistake. Ok. It was a big mistake and I kept saying that I was sorry, but it wasn't like I was always getting into trouble."_

_ "What did you do?"_

_ "It was really fucking stupid. And the kicker is that I don't even remember doing it. I just know what I did because there was undeniable proof."_

_ "You've lost me."_

_ "You know I'm an artist. I told you that my favorite medium wasn't drawing. It's spray paint. I'm good at it, too. My friends and I would do our parents' garages and we got a lot of attention. By the time that I was fourteen there were a few shop owners that were paying me to paint their buildings. It was such a thrill. Anyway, I was spending the night at one of my friends' houses. All my art friends were there and we were talking about a pet shop that just hired us. We decided that a celebration was in order. Katie broke into her parent's liquor cabinet and we started doing shots. That is the last thing that I remember of that night. The next thing I know, I'm waking up on Katie's bedroom floor with a raging headache and spray paint all over my hands and clothes." Bella stood up and walked into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later and handed me another can of soda with a sigh. "I was the first one up and after taking some aspirin I found in a medicine chest I grabbed my phone to check for any messages from my boyfriend. He hated my friends and wasn't happy anytime that I would hang out with them. Thing is that my inbox was full. I started to open them and they were all the same. "Way to go!" Awesome work!" "Best Ever!" I was so confused. I flipped over to facebook and when I saw the pictures that were posted there I literally screamed. Loud enough to wake everyone in the house. We had broken into the school and painted four different versions of the mascot on the gym walls. One was a naked and anatomically correct version with a naked female counterpart. I can tell you that I didn't do that one. It wasn't my style. But I guess that we thought it was a brilliant idea to take pictures and post them to Facebook with the caption, "Happy Homecoming!" When the authorities came to our homes there was no denying that we did it. We all got twelve months' probation, because of the breaking and entering. It was our first offenses and my dad helped talk them down to probation in each for guilty pleas and we were all expelled from the school. And we were ordered to pay the school back for the cost of repainting the gym."_

_ "Wow. Uh. Just wow."_

_ "Not as exciting as the prostitution ring that the local gossips had me belonging to?"_

_ I snorted, "I never bought that one. Too ridiculous. Even for those women."_

_ Bella reached out and pushed my hair out of my eyes and she continued to play with my hair. Then something that she'd said really hit me. I pulled back from her a bit, "Boyfriend?" _

"_More like ex-asshole boyfriend. He dumped me in a text message, saying that he had a promising future in politics and agreed with his parents that I was going to ruin that future. That is exactly what the text said."_

_ "What kind of spineless loser breaks up in a text?"_

_ "I know, right?" We talked a bit more about her life in Arizona, her friends, and the reasons that she came to Forks. I decided that I hated her mother for her part in making Bella come here, but I was glad that Bella did come here. _

I spent a couple hours with the Banner's before I started my walk home. I took a longer route home to avoid the possibility of running into Bella. I thought that I had succeeded as I approached my block, only to turn the corner and find her sitting on the front steps of my house, waiting for me.

A/N:

I know it's been a while between updates. I really can't help it. I'll try harder though. Again. I am not specifying any religion for Edward. Any similarities to any religion is not intentional, but I am sure that you'll see my catholic upbringing come out now and then. My super-duper beta Sweetpea123 caught some instances in this chapter. She is too awesome! Well, I think that is all for now, except, if you have reviewed any of my stories lately I promise I will reply. I am just busy these days running a million directions at once. Did I mention that my son joined the varsity football team? He's training to take over as their videographer since theirs is a senior this year. My son wants to be a sports photojournalist and it was literally a matter of being at the right place at the right time and having an amazing opportunity fall into his lap. Until next time, thank you for reading and the pictures of Bella's ideas for the garage are on my profile. Check them out!


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